During pregnancy, your immune system naturally becomes less robust to make your body more able to tolerate your growing baby and not reject it. This is pretty amazing!
However, this “immunosuppression” also makes you more susceptible to certain infections, including colds and flus.
In most cases, your body will be able to safely fight off a cold all on it’s own, but there are times where your body needs an extra boost.
The good news is that, when it is needed, there are a number of safe options for you during pregnancy, including Echinacea, which is considered a Category A herb in pregnancy. This means that adequate and well-controlled human studies in pregnancy have failed to demonstrated risk to mom or baby by using Echinacea. Fantastic!
This makes Echinacea my go-to herb for colds and upper respiratory infections in pregnancy. The dose that has been demonstrated to be safe in pregnancy is 250-1000mg per day, for 5-7 days. Best results have been found when taking Echinacea at the first signs of illness.
I will include more on your other options for treating colds and flus in future weekly tips, so stay posted for that : )
If you haven’t done so already, and want more evidence-based information for your pregnancy, sign up for my free cheat sheet: 8 shortcuts To A Healthy Pregnancy – and stay up-to-date with my weekly pregnancy tips and information about the My Health Pregnancy Plan program.
In health,
Dr Jocelyn Land-Murphy, ND
Terra Life
Disclaimer: The information and content provided is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not professional medical advice, nor is it intended to be a substitute therefore. Please consult the Disclaimer and Terms of Use for full details.
References:
Gallo, M. (2000). Pregnancy outcome following gestational exposure to echinacea: a prospective controlled study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 160(20): 3141-3143.
Jamieson, D. et al. (2006). Emerging infections and pregnancy. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 12(11).
Mills, E. et al. (2006). Herbal Medicines in Pregnancy & Lactation: an evidence-based approach. London: Taylor and Francis.
Natural Medicines Therapeutic Research Database. (n.d.). Echinacea. Retrieved from https://naturalmedicines.therapeuticresearch.com/databases/food,-herbs-supplements/professional.aspx?productid=981
Perri, D. et al. (2006). Safety and efficacy of echinacea (Echinacea angustafolia, E. purpurea and E. pallida) during pregnancy and lactation. Canadian Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 13(3): 262-267.